Sunday, 10 Sep 2023
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By Dilshan Boange
The legacy of the late Lionel Wendt occupies the collective psyche of Colombo’s cultural space largely through ‘The Wendt’. The institution that was born from the man whose activism in, and patronage of, the arts, during pre – republican Sri Lanka [Ceylon], is indelible when sketching out the contours and shades of modern Colombo’s cultural ethos.
By and large Wendt’s...
On April 24 and 25 this year, the J. D. A Perera Gallery of the University of Visual and Performing Arts was the host venue to an exhibition of paintings and sketches by one of Sri Lanka’s most senior and internationally known painters, George Beven.
The opening of the event which was on April 24 was attended by the artist George Beven himself now domiciled in England and...
It is not a common occurrence when one comes across a work of short fiction that presents in its very simplicity of structure a depth that leaves the reader speechless. Singaporean fiction writer Jeremy Tiang’s short story ‘1997’ creates an impact that makes the word ‘amazing’ starkly inadequate to describe the overall brilliance of the work.
I do not by any means make...
“Unmarriageable’, is it a word? Is it in the dictionary, I mean.” I asked my interviewee. “I think so,” replied novelist Ashok Ferrey, adding “I haven’t checked. I’m sure it is,” surmised this year’s Gratiaen Prize winner, who on the 22nd of June clinched the highly coveted Sri Lankan literary prize for his novel ‘The Unmarriageable Man’, Published by Penguin Random House...
On April 24 and 25 this year the J. D. A Perera Gallery of the University of Visual and Performing Arts was the host venue to an exhibition of paintings and sketches by renowned Sri Lankan painter George Beven.
This event organised by a coterie who own works by Beven as part of their personal art collections, had on display for public viewing an array of ‘Bevens’, which...
By Dilshan Boange
Gratiaen Prize winning playwright Seneka Abeyratne who is also a practitioner in the art of ballet and choreography, unfolded an...
Veteran theatre practitioner Jith Peiris has a wealth of stories related to the arts and urban society that relate to the good...
Short films as a genre have no commercial survival in the cinema industry but they stand as the most viable entry point to...
I went to the Wendt on Friday of January 21 this year, after a considerable interregnum of theatre caused by the current pandemic...
Trinity’s Treasure Trove of Fine Art
In this final instalment of this series, I wish to touch on the collection of works by the late great master painter Stanley...
Trinity’s treasure trove of fine art
In this third instalment on works of fine art at Trinity College Kandy, I wish to draw attention to four works of the...
Trinity’s treasure trove of fine art
In this second instalment about modern art treasures at Trinity College Kandy, I wish to discuss the portraits of Rev. John...
Trinity’s Treasure Trove of Fine Art:
Trinity College Kandy, founded in 1872 now stands at the threshold of its 150th anniversary which will be in 2022. Among the...
Raja Segar
Internationally celebrated Sri Lankan painter Raja Segar is a self-taught artist. The themes of his works encompass diverse...
Throwbacks to Theatre
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity to give the art of...
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity at present to give the...
Throwbacks to Theatre
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity to give the art of...
Throwbacks to Theatre
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity to give the art of...
Throwbacks to Theatre:
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity to give the art of...
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity to give the art of...
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity at present to give the...
Throwbacks to Theatre
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity at present to give the...
Throwbacks to theatre
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity at present to give the...
Throwbacks to theatre:
As the pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity at present to give the art of...
Throwbacks to Theatre
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity at present to give the...
Throwbacks to Theatre
As the global pandemic takes its toll on the vibrant theatre culture of Sri Lanka, with little opportunity at present to give the...
A review of ‘The Water Diviner’ :
In the film Two Towers in the Lord of The Rings trilogy, the character of ‘King Theoden’ says “No parent should have to bury...
A review of ‘Birdman’ :
Birdman which won the Oscar for Best Picture at the 87th Academy Awards is a film that resounds with a unique pulse in Hollywood...
A review of the film ‘August Rush’
When words simply can’t do, what do you resort to in order to say what simply cannot be left unsaid? Communing with the forces of...
An artist whose areas of activity include acting, directing and playwriting, Namel Weeramuni is a versatile personality who has...
Among the new areas of fiction writing being explored by Sri Lankan writers, narratives that bring to light the ravages of war...
Retro reviews: Cinema of yesteryear
In this 24th and final instalment of the weekly ‘Retro Reviews: Cinema of Yesteryear’ series, I spotlight a Hollywood Western...
Retro reviews: Cinema of yesteryear
An American drama movie released in 1939, written by Dalton Trumbo and directed by Ricardo Cortes, ‘Heaven with a Barbed Wire...
Retro reviews:
Released in 1949, and directed by Ray Enright,‘South of St. Louis’ is a Western film set in the days of the American civil war...
Retro reviews: Cinema of yesteryear
An American film released in 1933, ‘Man of the Forest’ is a movie directed by Henry Hathaway and is based on a novel by Zane Grey...
A story that unfolds in 1803 amid the strife between the French Republican Government under Napoleon Bonaparte and the Monarchist...
Retro reviews:
A musical comedy that captures the melodies and vibrancy of the ‘Rock and Roll Age’ of the 1950s, ‘The Girl Can’t Help It’ is a...
Coffee Shop Stories…
Continued from last week…“Eight shots of tequila spiked a bowl of cookie dough before it went in the oven.” Carry once said as an...
Retro reviews:
Imperial Japan was a great economic and military force to be reckoned with at the turn of the 20th century. It was the Asian...
Cats want to be bipedal so they too can claim human rights. I see that every time they look up at a human and make some attempt...
Retro reviews:
A tribe of cannibals with a sweet tooth for fat bellied white men, a professional hunter so near sighted he can’t see six inches...
Retro Reviews: Cinema of Yesteryear
In this sixth instalment of ‘Retro Reviews: Cinema of Yesteryear’ I wish to discuss with the readers of the Sunday Observer, a...
Retro Reviews: Cinema of Yesteryear
A musical comedy film from 1942, ‘Springtime in the Rockies’ brings a lively mosaic of song and dance choreographed in the style...
A conscience beyond the Court
On the evening of September 25 this year I was invited to a screening of ‘Paangshu’ at the New Empire Cinema at the Independence...
Retro Reviews: Cinema of Yesteryear
An American musical film from 1954, directed by Richard Thorpe, The Student Prince is a delightful movie from the golden classic...
During the lockdown earlier this year one of the noticeably affected occupation groups in Sri Lanka was the community of theatre...
Retro Reviews: Cinema of Yesteryear
‘The Vagabond King’ is a musical film released by Paramount Pictures in 1956. Directed by Michael Curtiz, the movie delivers a...
The Spanish Riding School in Vienna founded in 1572 is a great equestrian treasure of the western world. And the true story of...
A century has passed since the murder of the imperial family of Russia was carried out by the Soviet regime that seized power...
A feature series of Q & A interviews with Sri Lankan theatre practitioners on perceptions and perspectives of what lies ahead...
Kaushalya Fernando is a well known face of the screen, yet has her roots in theatre, and continues to be part of the vibrant...
Beginning his entry into Sri Lanka’s English theatre in 1980, staging a production of the classic Ceylonese vintage comedy Well...
Lihan Mendis is a passionate young theatre practitioner who has been devoted to theatre from his schooldays at S.Thomas’ College...
In this sixth instalment of The State and Fate of Theatre I present to the readers of the Sunday Observer, the concerns, views...
A feature series of Q&A interviews with Sri Lankan theatre practitioners on perceptions and perspectives of what lies ahead...